“I think we’re spending much too much and we have to look at ways to sort of attrition our expenses,” Senate Democratic Minority Leader Malcolm Smith told reporters after addressing a statewide group of county officials.

Smith said Spitzer’s budget, which increases overall spending by 5.1 percent, “is more than generous,” particularly in light of a $4.4 billion deficit.

“I and my conference are still looking at other ways in which we can bring that number down a little bit,” Smith said.

He said the state can find about a half a billion dollars in unused funds from the state’s public authorities and another $600 million through attrition of non-essential jobs.